Digitization 101

Thursday, May 23, 2019

Last year, I start the iSchool Public Libraries Initiative (IPLI). In the fall, two MSLIS students - as part of their work with the IPLI looked at the state library websites for all 50 state libraries. What they found were websites that varied in how they were organized and in their usefulness. One of the MSLIS students has a background in information technology (IT) and became interested in what libraries - of all types - could be doing differently with their websites. Sabrina Unrein took that exploration and create a paper on the topic entitled, What Makes a Good Library Website? She introduced the paper on May 20 through a blog post.

Haven't we talked about this before, as a profession? Haven't we already improved our websites? Yes, we've talked about it, and some libraries have improved their websites. However, some have not kept up with those improvements and those sites are out of date and not accessible to those with vision impairments.

Is you website content using copyrighted materials?

Sabrina did not touch upon copyright, because her efforts were focused on how websites are structured. However, as you're reading her report and looking at your website, now would be a good time to review your graphics. Are you using graphics which you created? Are you using works with an appropriate Creative Commons license? Are you using works in the public domain? Are you using works where you have received written permission from the creator? If you find works on your site that cause you to answer "no" to any of those questions, now would be a good time to remove them.

Review your website regularly

Is your website up to date and using current technologies? That is a question which you need to ask yourself regularly. I would suggest that you review your site yearly, at least, with more frequently reviews being more useful. Do not let your website get so out of date that updating its structure, content, or technology requires more time or money than you can give.

Monday, May 20, 2019

While judicial decisions, recorded by U.S. courts, have been held a being in the public domain, states have turned to legal publishers to make the materials available, and copyright has become an issue. In 1888, the Supreme Court ruled that:

The whole work done by the judges consitutes [sic] the authentic exposition
and interpretation of the law, which, binding every citizen, is free for
publication to all, whether it is a declaration of unwritten law, or an
interpretation of a constitution or a statute. Nash v. Lathrop, 142
Mass. 29, 35, 6 N. E. Rep. 559. In Wheaton v. Peters, at page 668, it
was said by this court, that it was 'unanimously of opinion that no
reporter has or can have any copyright in the written opinions delivered
by this court; and that the judges thereof cannot confer on any
reporter any such right.' What a court or a judge thereof cannot confer
on a reporter as the basis of a copyright in him, they cannot confer on
any other person or on the state.

In Georgia, the state believes it can stop someone from publishing court decisions, because of the annotations, which are not part of a judge's ruling. A federal appeals court has rules against the state, and now the state has asked the Supreme Court to step in, even though it ruled on this in 1888.

The New York Times has a good article on this and it is a fascinating read. Can a state limit who publishes court rules? Can it limit how much is published? And if a state can control the dissemination of rulings, what affect will this have on its residents?

Monday, May 06, 2019

Below is a post I wrote in the Facebook group Library Think Tank (#ALATT) on April 1 and it is now joke. It is a post that I don't want to lose, so I'm placing it here. (Please note that it has been updated to fix wording in a couple of places.)

Can the search committee see you working in their environment?

I'm currently on three search committees (and have been on many before
this) and I know that we ask versions of this question when we are
reviewing candidates. Does this person have the right skills, or can
the person (quickly) develop the needed skills? Does the person's
attitude mesh with ours? Is the person on the same trajectory as us?
Is the person demonstrating that they want to fit in with us?
Yes, we review the person's resume/CV, interview the person, check
references, etc., all with an eye towards whether the person is the
correct person for this opportunity at this time. The person might not
be ready.

Questions (for you to ponder) for those of you on the
job hunt, how do you demonstrate to the search committee that you see
yourself working in that environment? What is in your cover letter,
which connects you to that environment and its needs? Do they see on
your resume that you have the skills they are looking for? Through your
interview (Skype, telephone, or on-site), can they see that you will fit in? Have
you taken the time to learn something about that organization and do you
use that information in your interview? If you have to give a
presentation, have you inserted what you know about the organization?

When you ask about your piercings or hair color, what you are asking is
whether the search committee and organization will see you as fitting
in. When they look at everything about you (resume, etc.), will they
see someone who belongs in their organization? Or do your materials,
presentation, interview, etc. paint a picture of you such that the fact
you have piercings or colored hair become the dominate piece of
information about you?

Friday, April 12, 2019

Jeremy Cusker (Cornell University Libraries) talked through a collaborative journal subscription project, that was focused on lowering costs. He
noted that when a vendor carries open access journals, that it doesn’t
reduce the costs. He also noted that it wasn’t possible to be completely
data driven. Some selectors felt that how faculty felt about specific
journals needed to be considered.

The day then ended with a quick panel discussion with some of the presenters:

Jill Wilson

Erin Smith

Emily Clasper

Elaine Lasda

Jeremy Cusker

Kelly Johnson

One question they all answered was: What have you done when things go wrong?

Final thoughts

This was a wonderful day of learning about project management. It both reinforced what we knew, and allowed to gain new knowledge. The event was held in the Erie Canal Museum, which was a nice location. Lunch was catered by Scratch Farmhouse Catering, which was awesome. The event was sponsored by EBSCO and Elsevier. Thanks to the reps for coming to Syracuse and telling us about their products.

Next year is the Chapter's 75th anniversary! I'm looking forward to the celebrations!

Erin Smith and Laura Benjamin (SU Libraries) undertook a massive endeavor to free up space in the Syracuse University Bird Library, which required shifting a high number of books. They needed to shift books
from the second floor to make more space for students. No books could
be shifted outside of Bird Library and there wasn't enough time to do
weeding.

Will the books fit?

They did a shelf count and they measured the collection

They were only able to add 84 shelves, which was not enough.

While all the books would fit into the library, the shelf fill rate would be higher than recommended.

Who will do the work? The fact that staff is unionized impacted that. They were able to work through this issue.

The developed strategic fill rates for each call number based on growth. They created four fill rate categories.

They used an Excel spreadsheet to map every shelf in the library. This was a ton of work, but it helped them recognize when their plan was not yielding the free space they expected.

They made a glossary so that all workers were calling things by the same names.

Erin
and Laura talked us through an amazing 8-month project that was
fraught with problems that crept in. They found creative solutions
for addressing the problems they encountered, including not having
enough space. The good news is that they got done on schedule.

Long term impacts

No extra room

Ongoing discussion on future plans for space

Broader takeaways

Solid planning gives you a framework to rely on, even when the project doesn’t play out as planned

About Me

Jill Hurst-Wahl is a consultant, speaker, writer, researcher, and educator. She is an associate professor of practice in Syracuse University’s School of Information Studies, where she teaches graduate M.S. Library and Information Science (MSLIS) courses. Besides teaching, she leads the iSchool Public Libraries Initiative, a research group focused on providing more information to public libraries about what they and their communities need. Jill is the former director of the iSchool M.S. Library and Information Science program, which includes MSLIS: School Media (2012-2017). She is a member of the USNY Technology Policy and Practices Council (2009 to present) and the Onondaga County Public Library Board of Trustees (12/2016 to present). She is a former member of the Special Libraries Association Board of Directors (2011-2013) and of the Regents Advisory Council on Libraries (2007-2012). In 2019, Jill joined the board of the EveryLibrary Institute. She is the president of Hurst Associates, Ltd., which works with a broad range of organizations.

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